Potomac holds off Gwynn Park, moves to Md. 2A football quarterfinals

Entering Thursday’s second-round Maryland Class 2A South Region playoff game, Potomac believed there were two keys to victory against Prince George’s County rival Gwynn Park: The Wolverines needed to limit their mistakes and make the most of their opportunities when they came.

They weren’t wrong — and a 17-14 win at home served only to reaffirm what Coach Ronnie Crump preached to his players. A mistake was managed, and when an opportunity for a big play came, senior wide receiver Raymon Lewis seized on it.

Both came late in the second quarter, and the sequence turned the game. A fumble gave Gwynn Park the ball inside the Potomac 20, but Potomac’s defense stiffened, forcing a field goal attempt on the final play of the first half. The kick was blocked, and Lewis scooped up the ball and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown to give the Wolverines the lead entering halftime.

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“I actually thought the ball was dead,” Lewis said. “I looked at the sideline and heard my teammates saying, ‘Go!’ So I picked up the ball and just took off. It was an amazing feeling.”

Lewis, who suffered season-ending injuries in each of the past three seasons, said he and his teammates knew this game would come down a few key plays. Most thought it wouldn’t be decided until the final seconds. When they played in September, Potomac earned a tough 18-13 win.

Lewis made sure, however, that Thursday’s meeting had a little less drama. He caught a 16-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to put the Wolverines (8-3) up 10 points.

The Wolverines’ win came on the back of a solid defensive line that kept Gwynn Park (7-4) scoreless in the second and third quarters. The Yellow Jackets got a late touchdown to pull within a field goal but could draw no closer.

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“I just got one word, and that’s chemistry,” senior quarterback Marshawn Perry said of his team’s greatest strength. “Now we got to come out throughout the week, practice, focus, lock in. We’re moving on to bigger and better things.”

Up next: A quarterfinal date against an opponent to be determined.

Crump, while happy with the win, says his team needs to refine its situational awareness to keep pace with teams outside Prince George’s County.

“It doesn’t get easy,” Crump said. “Things happen in the playoffs that you don’t think will happen.”

And the key to pulling off a surprise in the later rounds of the postseason?

“No mistakes,” he added.

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